Ethereum (ETH) recently witnessed a remarkable event that sent ripples of excitement through the crypto community. An Ethereum whale emerged from a prolonged slumber, making a substantial return to the scene after remaining inactive for more than two years. 

A whale is a term used to describe individuals or entities holding significant amounts of cryptocurrency. 

The identity of this prominent investor has been revealed as an early participant in Ethereums groundbreaking initial coin offering (ICO), which played a pivotal role in the platforms inception.

Ethereum Whale Resurfaces With 4,032 ETH Stake

The Ethereum whale, who played a significant role in Ethereums early days, recently made headlines by staking an impressive 4,032 ETH, valued at approximately $7.4 million, according to Lookonchain, a reputable blockchain analytics platform.

A whale that had been dormant for 2.4 years created a contract 3 hrs ago and staked 4,032 $ETH ($7.4M).

The whale is an Ethereum ICO participant and received 60K $ETH at Genesis.https://t.co/qmVlopOXke pic.twitter.com/eUVWJHyXAJ

Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 18, 2023

The whales resurgence, occurring just hours ago, marks its first visible activity in a span of approximately two and a half years. This sudden reentry into the Ethereum ecosystem has ignited a surge of excitement and conjecture among crypto enthusiasts. 

The whales Ethereum address was even shared on Lookonchains Twitter page, further fueling the intrigue surrounding this event.

ETH Current Price And Whales ICO Participation

The current...

Shot from Bitcoin Magazine conference in Miami last year. (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

Toncoin is trading in the red today, losing some of its price gains in the past week. Its 24-hour trading volume is down over 3% at press time, indirectly contributing to todays price slump. 

TON traded at the $2 price level since January 1, 2023, slowly accumulating its gains. However, the bears forced a price decline to the $1.9 price level on May 9, 2023, where the asset trades today. 

TONs Movement Suggests A Bearish Trend Ahead

TON is in a downtrend, forming a red candle. It has dropped below its 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), confirming the bearish trend. Also, TONs Moving average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) is below its signal line and shows a negative value, which is also bearish sentiment.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is 42.65, dropping out of the neutral zone as it approaches the oversold region 30. The indicator is also moving downwards, reflecting the pressure from the bears.

TONs price will likely decline till it rests on its nearest support level and the bulls rally again. Moreover, TONs 200-day SMA shows a long-term bullish sentiment.

TON is just above the $1.8422 support as the bears mount pressure. A decline below this level will cause a price drop to $1.7525, its next support level. The bearish pressure at the $1.9918 resistance led to the current price drop for the asset. TON will likely continue its downtrend in the short term. 

Recent Development Trends On Toncoin Network Likely To Influence Its Price

The Ton Foundation announced the latest network developments in a blog post for community members. These developments could lead to a positive price action soon. 

Ton Wallet For KaiOS: Ton Wallet is currently available for KaiOS users. KaiOS is the worlds third largest operating system (OS), functional in over 160 million devices. This wallet enables users w...

Funding (Shutterstock)

Italian officials are setting aside $33 million to enhance the development of digital skills for workers at risk termination due to automation and AI.

Litecoin's price (Highcharts.com, CoinDesk)

Experts are still divided on the real impact blockchain tech can have on solving some fo the problems that ail AI.

Trevor Jones creates NFTs fit for a King, he sold $4.3 million of NFTs in a day and hes among the most celebrated crypto artists in the world.

UK Parliament River Thames London, England (Unsplash)

(Pixabay)

Crypto regulation is gaining momentum in South Korea as lawmakers seek to impose stricter rules on digital assets in response to a shocking murder case linked to cryptocurrency. 

In a tragic incident reported by Bloomberg, a Korean woman was kidnapped and subsequently killed in what appears to be a dispute arising from losses related to crypto. 

The gravity of the crime, which reportedly took place late March, has placed the spotlight on the efforts of lawmakers to expedite the countrys inaugural standalone crypto bill, which may soon undergo a parliamentary vote, potentially as early as this month. 

The incident has underscored the need for comprehensive regulatory measures to address the risks and challenges associated with the burgeoning crypto industry.

On Focus: Virtual Asset User Protection Bill

This event has prompted lawmakers to accelerate the passage of the nations inaugural standalone crypto bill, known as the Virtual Asset User Protection Bill, which consolidates 19 different crypto-related measures into a single comprehensive legislation.

it aims to establish precise legal definitions for virtual assets and introduce penalties for offenses such as insider trading and market manipulation. 

Furthermore, the proposed legislation seeks to grant the Financial Services Commission in South Korea the authority to supervise cryptocurrency companies and oversee the custody of digital assets.

Different Regulatory Paths For Crypto, Securities Tokens

Under the new rules, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin will be subject to the proposed regulations, while tokens categorized as securities by the government will continue to be governed by existing capital-markets laws. 

By establishing clear guidelines for digital assets, South Korea aims to fortify the resilience of the crypto industry and protect investors from potential risks.

The bills provision for mandatory insurance coverage aims to provide a safety net for digital asset firms, shielding them from financial losses in the event of cyberattacks or breaches.

Additionally, the stricter rules on reserve funds and account keeping seek to ensure greater transparency and accountability within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

The introduction of the Virtual Asset User Protection Bill comes at a crucial moment for South Korea as the nation grapples with gr...

A partner at Hogan & Hogan, Attorney Jeremy Hogan, has weighed in on talks about the Ripple lawsuit. The pro-XRP lawyer said Ripple would get an unfavorable outcome if Judge Torres moved the Fair Notice Defence (FND) issue to trial.

According to Hogan, there would be an FND trial only if Ripple loses its case to the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) under the Section 5 violation.

Hogans Opinion On The Fair Notice Defence Trial

Hogan has supportively followed up on the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit. In recent discussions, he noted that Judge Analisa Torres remark about the Hinman speech drafts suggests she has yet to rule on the FND issue. 

Related Reading: Conflux Network Partners With China Telecom For Blockchain, SIM Project Details

During the latest hearing on the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit on Tuesday, May 16, Judge Torres stated her decision on both parties request to seal summary judgment motion-related documents. 

However, for the XRP community, the most remarkable part of the judges order was the courts denial of the SECs request to seal the 2018 Hinman speech drafts.

While delivering her decision, Judge Torres said: Whether the court relies on the Hinman documents in ruling on the summary judgment motions, they are judicial documents subject to the presumption of public access.

While commenting on the judges decision, Hogan noted that the first remarks suggest that she only denied the SECs motion to seal the Hinman documents or has not addressed the fair notice defense issue.

The Controversial Fair Notice Defence Issue

Part of Ripples defense in the ongoing lawsuit is that the SEC failed to issue a fair notice before suing it for securities law violation.

In a previous hearing on April 11, the SEC filed a document supporting its motion for summary judgment against Ripple, citing its recent victory against Commonwealth Equity Services. 

Notably, the court deemed that a long-running precedent provides sufficient fair notice in the Commonwealth Equity vs. SEC case. 

Bringing it to the Ripple case, the SEC argued that the longstanding court precedent, which gave rise to the Howey test, gives Ripple a fair n...

Firms are subject to the whims of the bank account providers and end up dedicating resources to opening bank accounts. (Unsplash)

The latest price moves in bitcoin (BTC) and crypto markets in context for May 18, 2023. First Mover is CoinDesks daily newsletter that contextualizes the latest actions in the crypto markets.

U.S. Bitcoin Corp bitcoin mine in Buffalo Avenue, Niagara Falls, New Yor has been at the heart of a local debate over noise pollution. (CoinDesk/Eliza Gkritsi)

DWF Labs, a global digital asset market maker and investment firm, is buying more LADYS, on-chain data on May 17 shows.

DWF Labs Buying LADYS

Trackers indicate that the market maker bought 1.9 trillion LADYS for 108 ETH worth roughly $196,000 at the time of the purchase.

These purchases were made on Uniswap v3, a decentralized exchange allowing for trustless token swapping on several blockchains.

While DWF Labs purchase could be worth watching, it is not immediately clear why they are buying the meme token that its creators say will be the quintessential token for internet spirituality in the days ahead. 

There are concerns that the market marker is trying the pump LADYS so that they can liquidate and profit later. On the other hand, DWF Labs could be genuinely interested in the project and want to speculate, riding on the meme culture that has gripped the cryptocurrency markets in recent weeks.

LADYS is a meme coin that was created by the Milady creator, an NFT project on the Ethereum blockchain. Miladys creator says the LADYS is a meme token with zero utility but is self-organized and a drip currency.

There is also a disclaimer that the project has no association with Charlotte Fang or her creation Milady Maker but is simply paying homage to an NFT collection we all love and recognize.

Meme Coin Activity Is Falling

Considering the recent success of meme tokens like PEPE, LADYS has been flying higher, drawing attention despite the tokens lack of intrinsic utility.

Even so, CoinMarketCap data on May 18 shows that LADYS has been cooling off in recent days, despite its overall market capitalization remaining decent at $69,219,733. With this, the token is ranked 324th in the market cap leaderboard.

Part of this high market cap could be because the token is listed in some centralized exchanges besides Uniswap, where it is actively traded. CoinMarketCap data shows that LADYS actively trades on MEX and Gate.io, two popular periphery cryptocurrency exchanges. 

Following the listing on these centralized exchanges, the meme tokens trading activity appears to have contracted in Uniswap.

However, Etherscan data...

Chainlink Labs team at SmartCon (Chainlink)

Chainlinks oracle network will welcome Coinbase Cloud as a node operator to improve high-quality data provision to several blockchain protocols.

Lightspark has announced the launch of the Lightspark Wallet SDK, a tool designed to enable businesses of all sizes the ability to offer their customers a Lightning wallet. According to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine, Lightspark aims to make the Lightning Network more accessible and mainstream, ensuring that payments are open, secure and instant.

The press release explained that the Lightspark Wallet SDK is the result of careful consideration of businesses' needs and feedback from customers. The SDK is tailored for seamless usage by businesses of all sizes and stages, the company stated, with easy integration and the ability to add unique UI and brand identity. It aims to simplify the complexity of Lightning payments, allowing businesses to focus on building exceptional user experiences without worrying about technical intricacies such as setting up channels and rebalancing liquidity.

The SDK also incorporates Lightspark Predict, which offers low latency, high payment success rates, and low costs, ensuring reliable and capital-efficient Lightning payments, according to the press release. By leveraging Lightspark Predict, the release explained, businesses gain better connectivity to the wider Lightning Network, enhancing reliability and certainty when sending and receiving Lightning payments.

Also highlighted by the company, were recent partnerships which proved the growing adoption of Lightning amongst businesses. Xapo Bank became the first bank to integrate with the Lightning Network via Lightspark, allowing its members to pay for small purchases with bitcoin directly, without converting to USD first.

In addition, Lightspark highlighted partnerships with Rain, the largest crypto-asset platform in the MENA region, which is enabling its users to execute real-time bitcoin transactions using Lightspark, and Flexa, a digital commerce integration provider that has leveraged Lightspark to help businesses navigate to the next era of commerce.

Ledger Wallet (Shutterstock)

Bitcoin markets are always open, and the BTC price is constantly changing. Find out how to track and understand more about Bitcoin price action with the Cointelegraph crypto price indexes.

Stock exchange, trading (geralt/Pixabay)

Subversive Capital cites losses as it shuts down its PUNK ETF and pivots to artificial intelligence.

(Yuga Labs)

On-chain data shows the Bitcoin whales have accumulated 84,897 BTC during the last five weeks, something that could be bullish for the price.

Bitcoin Whales Have Been Growing Their Holdings Recently

According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Santiment, when whales last accumulated like this, the price jumped about 34%. The relevant indicator here is the BTC Supply Distribution, which tells us about the total amount (as well as the percentage) of the Bitcoin supply that each wallet group in the market is holding currently.

The addresses on the network are divided into these wallet groups based on the number of coins that they are carrying in their balances at the moment. The 10-100 coins cohort, for instance, includes all addresses that are holding at least 10 and at most 100 BTC currently.

Naturally, if the Supply Distribution is applied to this specific group, it would measure the amount of the supply that wallets satisfying this condition are holding as a whole.

Now, in the context of the current discussion, the Bitcoin cohort of interest is the whale group. Whales are humongous entities that carry at least 1,000 BTC ($26.8 million at the current exchange rate) and at most 10,000 BTC ($268 million) in their wallets. This means that the 1,000-10,000 coins group is of relevance here.

The below chart shows the trend in the Bitcoin Supply Distribution for this particular cohort over the past year:

As displayed in the graph, the Bitcoin Supply Distribution for the whale group has observed an overall uptrend recently. During the last five weeks, these humongous investors have added around 84,897 BTC to their holdings, which is worth around $2.2 billion.

Generally, the behavior followed by the whales can be something to watch out for, as their massive holdings mean that they have the potential to cause noticeable ripples in the market through their moves.

An example of this can be clearly seen in the chart. In the leadup to and during the rally back in January of this year, the whales displayed a trend of accumulation and grew their supplies by around 71,690 BTC.

While this accumulation occurred, the price of Bitcoin started its sur...

Stanford University professor David Ts said his teams research had revealed a security property between Bitcoin and proof-of-stake protocols.

Users can manage and customize the entire life cycle of the CBDC, including minting, distribution, redemption and destruction. (Ripple Labs)

Dogecoin (DOGE), in light of the current meme coin craze, has become a major topic of conversation and speculation in the financial circles. Over the past weeks, Dogecoin has tallied decent gains in value, and getting the nod of investors and enthusiasts alike. 

Dogecoin has witnessed a considerable rise, driven by factors such as celebrity endorsements, social media frenzy, and the growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies in mainstream culture.

Now, as the month of May approaches its fourth week, many are eagerly anticipating whether the meme coin will reach the highly anticipated milestone of $0.10 per coin.

Dogecoin Price Rollercoaster Ride

In April of this year, Dogecoin reached a new high after Tesla and former Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who is one of the most vocal supporters of DOGE, changed the social media platforms logo to a Shiba Inu dog, which has become synonymous with the cryptocurrency.

The move was seen as a significant endorsement of Dogecoin, and its value surged by more than 25% in a matter of hours.

However, the excitement was short-lived as the price of Dogecoin soon corrected, leading to concerns that the cryptocurrency was simply a speculative bubble waiting to burst. But the DOGE faithful remained steadfast, and as the weeks went by, the cryptocurrency began to regain its momentum.

There It Goes Again

Yesterday, the price of the meme coin went up as the billionaire responded to a tweet: Such Doge, much hair! with a laughing emoticon.

Such Doge, much hair! @BillyM2k @elonmusk @dogeofficialceo pic.twitter.com/imaUn8BNLX

Endrina Pavli (@EPavlic) May 16, 2023

In recent days, Dogecoin has once again moved up the ranks, thanks in part to the appointment of Twitters new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, who is rumored to be a fan of cryptocurrencies. 

...

(Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

A Redditor highlighted the recurring violations of regulations by banks, expressing their frustration at the relatively muted response from the SEC.

Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa, a global payments technology company operating in over 200 countries, has confirmed that they have deployed its first paymaster smart contract on the Goerli testnet of Ethereum, a smart contracting platform.

Visa Is Experimenting

In a tweet on May 17, 2023, Sheffield said that Visa would continue researching and experimenting with account abstraction and EIP-4337 in the days ahead.

His comments were confirmed by a team member who said that the payments company is actively exploring the potential of smart contracts and the future of programmable money and payments.

As part of its experiment on the Goerli testnet, Visa will look at how it can further take advantage of EIP-4337 in deploying a functional paymaster smart contract to evaluate its utility.

The paymaster is a smart contract account that Visa says sponsors transaction fees for contract accounts. These trials are on Goerli, a public testnet on Ethereum for users to test decentralized applications (DApps) without paying gas fees.

Specifically, the payments technology company will be channeling efforts to look at how best it can deploy the paymaster smart contract to serve its client base. Interestingly, Visa will investigate whether its clients can pay as fees using alternative tokens like USDT and not ETH.

According to Visa, this will help solve real-world problems and enhance the user experience when posting on-chain transactions.

EIP-4337 Could Open Up Ethereum To More Possibilities

EIP-4337 is an improvement proposal recently approved by Ethereum developers and set for mainnet integration. The proposal defines an account abstraction standard for the Ethereum blockchain.

Account abstraction is the idea of separating the logic behind deployed decentralized applications from account management. 

Implementing this proposal introduces a smart account entirely governed by code. This code manages the social recovery of private keys, for example, or appending multi-wallet signatures. 

In this way, more possibilities can be opened up, driving usability. Subsequently, this may accelerate adoption by releasing features such as passwordless login or one-click transactions.

Analysts say the ideas proposed by EIP-4337 will introduce flexibility for entities or individuals designing Ethereum and token wallets. Developers will also be allowed to be more cre...

LDO staking might go live if a community proposal is passed. (Micheile/Unsplash)

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is looking at retail CBDC use cases, such as the equity release of tokenized real estate assets with Ripples new CBDC product.

Bitcoin, the worlds largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has been in a consolidation phase for the past few weeks. While this may seem like a period of relative stability, on-chain intelligence platform Glassnode co-founder Yann Allemann suggests that it could indicate an impending price movement. 

In the past, similar consolidation periods have often been followed by price swings, and investors are closely watching for any signs of where the market might be headed.

While some investors may be nervous about the recent consolidation, others see it as an opportunity to buy in before the next big move. As the market awaits the next Bitcoin price action, analysts and enthusiasts alike are speculating on what might come next for the leading cryptocurrency.

Factors Indicating A Positive Outlook For Bitcoin Price

Amidst the current state of the Bitcoin market, several factors have been identified by Allemann on Twitter, which contribute to the prediction of a positive future for the cryptocurrency. These factors include the depletion of short-sellers resources, the reinforcement of support levels, and the expectation of an overall bullish trend. 

Shorts getting exhausted the longer #BTC holds $26.8k big move coming

The price explodes whenever #Bitcoin consolidates below the MA. Bands are already tight. The clock is ticking.https://t.co/t20rwaMxPB pic.twitter.com/5UG6UB9KQn

(@Negentropic_) May 17, 2023

Bitcoins price has been fluctuating within the range of $26,500 and $27,100, a period characterized by the prevalence of extreme fear sentiment among market participants.

At the time of writing CoinGecko shows Bitcoins price stands at $27,372, reflecting a modest 1.9% increase over the past 24 hours. However, it is worth noting that the cryptocurrency has also experienced a slight decline of 0.2% over the course of the previous seven days.

...

G7 summit or meeting concept. Row from flags of members of G7 group of seven and list of countries, 3d illustration

Bitcoin is giving fresh bullish signals on low timeframes, leading to hopes that BTC price action may ditch its recent corrective phase.

Court Lawsuit Judge Legal (Shutterstock)

While SHIB saw a slight price increase yesterday, the Shiba Inu community saw the emergence of a new large SHIB holder. The investor added $176,800,000 worth of Shiba Inu tokens, Etherscan data shows. 

On-chain data revealed that the whale accumulation happened in four consecutive equal transactions of 5 trillion SHIB tokens each.

SHIB Records 5th Major Investment

The newly emerged whale scooped 20 trillion SHIB tokens worth $176.80 million approximately 14 hours ago.  According to data on Etherscan, the transfer has made the SHIB investor the fifth biggest holder. 

Related Reading: Dogecoin, Shiba Inu Whales Move Massive Amounts, Dumping Going On?

Another remarkable thing about the transactions is that they occurred almost simultaneously. This new SHIB investors portfolio makes up 2% of the Shiba Inu supply.

The accumulation by the whale has not had any significant positive impact on the price of the digital asset though. The meme coin rose 1.17% in the last day but is still seeing a 0.56% decline on the 7-day chart.

Even though SHIBs price started gaining slightly from May 14, closing at $0.00000883 against its opening price of $0.00000878, it reversed by May 16, closing at $0.00000880 against its opening price of $0.00000884.

Upcoming Advancements In Shiba Inu Ecosystem

A Shiba Inu marketing team member, Lucie Sasnikova, recently...

Grayscale has stopped its ETH futures ETF plans after a warning from the SEC, while Bitwise amended its SEC filing to halt any launch of Ether ETF products.

One of Australias Big Four banks announced efforts to combat crypto fraud activities aimed at reducing losses from scams.

Case files on the prosecutors appeal were sent to the Supreme Court in Podgorica for a decision.

Gavel Justice Legal (Unsplash)

When FTX tried to sell the platform after filing for bankruptcy, the top bid was for just $1 million, representing a 99.5% decline in value.

Buys and sells of Bitcoin Frogs. (CryptoSlam)

Sydney, Australia (Photo by Johnny Bhalla/Unsplash)

CryptoUK, a trade body based in the United Kingdom, argued that a much more nuanced and tailored approach must be considered.

As accusations are hurled at Ledger over a controversial update, one hardware wallet has decided to open-source its firmware. Others have turned it into a marketing opportunity.

The infamous Hinman Speech docs are required to be unsealed by June 6, according to a previous court order, defense attorney James K. Filan says.

Crypto policy-making efforts have been reignited in South Korea after a woman was murdered following a dispute over digital assets.

The crypto-friendly fintech said that the license would hold it to a higher regulatory standard that could give consumers confidence.

Making deposits at Europes Central Banks accessible to payment companies such as stablecoin issuers would be a boon to financial stability.

Australian dollar deposits and withdrawals have been impacted due to a decision made by its third-party provider, Binance Australia says.

The Australian digital dollar was used in a trade for a United States dollar stablecoin using an Ethereum layer-2 blockchain.

U.S. President Joe Biden (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)

The regulator has asked Grayscale to withdraw its application for a Filecoin Trust product, saying it believes its underlying asset is a security.

(Sahand Babali/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

(Getty Images)

The third try is a charm for the crypto brokerage, whose assets were almost bought by FTX and Binance.US. Now its just handing what it has over to its creditors.

(Dylan Calluy/Unsplash)

(Scott Olson/Getty Images)

US Capital building (Matt Anderson/Getty Images)

The fund will be used to help residents secure affordable housing through blockchain initiatives.

Ethereum price is down today as trading volume remains low and traders send Ether to centralized exchanges.

Pakistan was taken off the FATF gray list in October, and it has good reasons to want to stay in international good graces.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire (CoinDesk)

Prime Minister Han Deok-soo reportedly believes that including cryptocurrency in property registration is the right thing to do.

(Shubham Dhage/Unsplash)

Elon Musks May 10 tweet featuring Milady NFT artwork drove the floor price to 7.3 ETH before settling at 5.69 ETH.

Moonbeam network.

This is an opinion editorial by Dennis Fassuliotis, founder of South Carolina Blockchain Inc. and co-founder of South Carolina Emerging Technology Association, Inc.

Why is the Buncombe County, North Carolina moratorium on Bitcoin mining so important?

Because they got caught.

There is a contagion running through Western North Carolina and this time, we know it was man made in a lab. It is called a moratorium on bitcoin mining. Its origins date back to August 2022 in Clay County, and Buncombe County has mutated it into this newest strain based on broadly construing a North Carolina zoning statute to authorize a development moratorium.

When properly used, North Carolinas development moratorium statute seeks to ensure that a new type of development does not proceed until changes to regulations or environmental issues are appropriately addressed. This allows for more effective planning and management of growth and development while minimizing potential negative impacts on the community.

Because a moratorium is a drastic restriction on property rights, the statute imposes conditions that an administrative authority must satisfy to get one. Even then, such a moratorium can only span a minimum of 61 days and a maximum of one year, as noted by the planning commissioner during a recent public briefing.

In this case, Buncombe County commissioners, under the direction of Planning Director Nathaniel Pennington, argued that they needed a one-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining in the unincorporated areas of Buncombe County so they could study the industry and craft standards for the newly-defined use.

But we already have a workable definition for a bitcoin mine, as confirmed in my last opinion editorial, where I referred t.....

(Axie Infinity)

AXS token tops CoinDesk Indices' leaderboard (CoinDesk Indices)

A bankruptcy judge ruled on the BlockFi case (Pixabay)

Tether (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis explains state's CBDC "ban." (CoinDesk screen grab from governor's office video)

The Financial Markets Authority in Paris, France (Jack Schickler/CoinDesk)

Uniswap booth at ETHDenver 2023 (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

UK Parliament Building and Big Ben, London, England (Ugur Akdemir/Unsplash)

Bill Hinman's 2018 speech is at the center of the legal row (CoinDesk)

Foundation Devices, a leader in Bitcoin-centric tools, has announced the launch of its Envoy mobile app as a standalone Bitcoin mobile wallet with enhanced features for account management and privacy.

According to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine, this update is part of Foundation's mission to make digital sovereignty more accessible and to lower the barriers to bitcoin self-custody. The new Envoy app introduces what Foundation is calling Envoy Magic Backups, a simplified setup and backup process for mobile wallets. The press release described how users can now start using the wallet in just 60 seconds without seed words and easily restore their wallet on any device with a few taps.

Zach Herbert, Co-Founder and CEO of Foundation, expressed his excitement about the update, stating, "With this update, we are excited to bring our best-in-class design, intuitive and approachable user experience, and peace of mind to smartphone users across the globe no Passport required."

In addition to the introduction of the Envoy app, Foundation has also announced a price reduction for its Passport hardware wallet, now priced at $199. Customers who ordered within the last 90 days are eligible to claim a $50 gift card for the Foundation store.

Alongside this, Foundation released a major update to the Passport hardware wallet, introducing the Key Manager extension that enables powerful new tools such as child seeds and Nostr keys.

Herbert emphasized Foundation's commitment to accessibility, stating, "Foundation is committed to making Bitcoin and decentralized technologies accessible to everyone. These updates mark significant advancements in our mission to empower individuals to reclaim their digital sovereignty."

Meme coin rug pulls could impact BTC and ETH (Juli Kosolapova/Unsplash)

Relai, a Swiss non-custodial Bitcoin app, has announced the launch of zero-fee bitcoin purchases in order to attract more users. 

This new offering allows users to make one fee-free bitcoin purchase per month for up to 100 CHF/EUR. By offering a zero-fee purchase option to its user base of over 70,000 individuals, Relai hopes to encourage more individuals to explore the benefits of owning bitcoin and participating in the digital economy.

Julian Liniger, Relai CEO and co-founder, expressed his excitement about the new offering in a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine, stating, "We are thrilled to offer our users the zero fee purchase option. It's a testament to our commitment to simplifying Bitcoin investments and making it accessible to everyone." He further emphasized the importance of providing fair and secure access to bitcoin, calling it the "best savings technology ever invented."

In addition to the zero-fee trading launch, Relai explained that it recently made improvements to its user interface, making it even easier for users to onboard and use core functions like buying and selling. The press release states that these efforts have contributed to the company's success, with March 2023 being its best month to date according to the company. Relai reported a 215% year-on-year revenue growth since March 2022, along with a 53% increase compared to February 2023.

Relai recently announced an investment of $4.5 million, led by Jeff Booth's ego death capital. The company has reiterated its plans for the future, including Lightning integration and the launch of a white-label product.

<p>After experiencing a bearish trend on April 17, 2023, that dropped the asset to a low <a href= "https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/cosmos-hub/historical_data#panel" rel="nofollow">of $10.12 from $12.88</a>, Cosmos (ATOM) has managed to recover slightly.</p> <p>Between February 8 and May 17, ATOM witnessed a significant decline of 32.89%, reaching a low point of $10.175 on May 9. The current month has, however, brought a surge in demand for Cosmos (ATOM), leading to a remarkable price performance. </p> <h2>Whats Ahead For Cosmos (ATOM)?</h2> <p>According to data, ATOM experienced a substantial price decline, reaching $10.73, a <a href= "https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/cosmos/" rel="nofollow">0.95% decrease</a> within the last 24-hour trading period.</p> <p>Related Reading: <a href= "https://www.newsbtc.com/news/will-dogecoin-doge-break-free-from-limbo-market-awaits-bullish-catalyst/?swcfpc=1"> Will Dogecoin (DOGE) Break Free From Limbo? Market Awaits Bullish Catalyst</a></p> <p>Notably, the 24-hour trading volume is up by 9.04%, rising to $85 million, indicating that the market activities around ATOM are increasing. More buyers and sellers are actively participating in trading ATOM. </p> <p>Also, an increase of more than 9% signifies potential price volatility, which might influence the price of ATOM. But the current market sentiment of ATOM is bearish as its <a href= "https://cfgi.io/atom-fear-greed-index/" rel="nofollow">Fear and Greed Index</a> shows 28, fear. </p> <p>This indicates a potential downtrend as investors and traders fear entering the market. This may also lead to high sell pressure from the investors. Based on the Fear & Greed Index reading, the market may likely experience some price correction if the bears maintain this momentum in the coming days.

Cosmos (ATOM) Technical Analysis

The 200-day and 50-day Simple Moving Averages (SMAs) currently exceed the ATOM/USDT trading pair price. This indicates that the market is on a bearish trend in longer and shorter timeframes.

Also, this means that the selling momentum is stronger than the buying. However, if the bulls increase the buying pressure, some price changes might occur in a few days.

The Relative Strength Index shows 44.91, meaning theres market indecision between buyers and sellers. The market in a neutral zone indicates low pressure from buyers and sellers.</p> ...

Web3 developer platform Airstack raises more than $7 million (Pixabay)

Cast aside short-term BTC price weakness to focus on the bigger investment trend, says on-chain analyst Philip Swift.

Cypherpunk Jameson Lopp highlights the need for easier-to-use, improved self-custody solutions and more on-ramp avenues to drive Bitcoin adoption.

Polkadot (DOT) may not have experienced the most exuberant price fluctuations in recent weeks, but the tides could soon shift as the networks unwavering optimism translates into the success of its upcoming developments. 

In a recent Twitter post, Polkadot unveiled its weekly roundup, shedding light on the significant advancements within its ecosystem that hold the potential to transform the current bearish sentiment.

While the market may have been subdued in recent times, Polkadots unwavering commitment to innovation and progress sets the stage for a potential turnaround.

1/ Every Monday the #PolkadotRoundup brings you the very latest from the Polkadot ecosystem.

This weeks is ready for you now. Read on for the key news and announcements from the many talented teams building in the Polkadot ecosystem. pic.twitter.com/dLiK5Rm2rF

Polkadot (@Polkadot) May 15, 2023

The weekly roundup serves as a testament to the ongoing efforts and achievements within the Polkadot ecosystem, offering a glimpse into the developments that could reignite investor enthusiasm.

Polkadot Highlights Integrations of the Week

In a new development for Polkadots NFT ecosystem, Astar Network has announced its collaboration with JR Kyushu, the largest rail network in Japan. Through this partnership, NFTs on Astar Network will offer unique memorabilia and proof of riding certificates to the 330 million individuals who ride the railway annually. 

The largest rail network in Japan, J.R. Kyushu, in partnering with P.R.O. Co. Ltd is a game-changer for NFT adoption in Japan! With 330 Million people riding the railway annually, the project can potentially reach massive adoption!

Read more below!https://t.co/PPTvQUOqyI pic.twitter.com/A4OtDd5ccV

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More than 70% of all tokenized Bitcoin, worth over $4.3 billion, have been transferred to Ethereum, according to data from Cryptoflows.

This migration highlights a growing trend of utilizing Bitcoin within Ethereums decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem and other interesting areas.

Billions Of Bitcoin Being Tokenized

Out of the $5.75 billion worth of BTC exported from Bitcoin, over $1.44 billion found its way to the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) with more BTC tokens flowing to Avalanche, Fantom, and Solana.

Just like Ethereum, BSC, Avalanche, and other ecosystems where tokenized BTC found its way to, support smart contracting. Therein, holders can engage in DeFi, possibly earning income.

Bitcoin doesnt support smart contracts; explaining why some holders are tokenizing their assets. Still, while there appears to be growing demand for DeFi, reading from this outflow of BTC to smart contracting platforms, total value locked (TVL) and decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes have been low and even stagnant.

Data from DefiLlama.com, a DeFi analytics platform, shows that TVL is flat and below $50 billion.

Meanwhile, DEX trading volumes have been relatively low in recent months. This phase of decreased activity could suggest a temporary slowdown in decentralized trading, mirroring the general trend of crypto prices in recent months.

With less than $2 billion of registered DEX trading volumes on May 17, there has been a notable slump in activity over the last months, especially from early 2022.

In November 2021, at the peak of the last bull cycle, DEX trading volumes, on average, stood at over $7 billion.

BTC Prices Suppressed But Coin Is A Safe Haven

While users port their BTC to smart contracting platforms, Bitcoin prices remain under pressure partly due to regulatory decisions across the world, mainly in the United States and Europe.

On May 16, the European Union (EU) approved comprehensive crypto regulations which aim to bring transparency and oversight to the crypto industry, addressing concerns such as money laundering and investor protection.

Even in this bearish environment, Geoff Kendrick, the head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, recently...

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